Rahul Gandhi demands judicial probe into CBSE's OSM contract with EdTech firm
Synopsis
Rahul Gandhi has escalated the CBSE OSM controversy into a full-blown demand for judicial inquiry, alleging that eligibility rules were bent to hand a critical contract to EdTech firm COEMPT over TCS — a decision he says put the futures of 18.5 lakh Class 12 students at risk. With the Education Minister already owning up to glitches and CBSE on the defensive, the row is as much about procurement accountability as it is about exam fairness.
Key Takeaways
Rahul Gandhi on 29 May demanded a judicial inquiry into CBSE 's OSM contract award to COEMPT , alleging eligibility rules were diluted.
Gandhi alleged TCS was bypassed and COEMPT was favoured, affecting the evaluation of 18.5 lakh Class 12 students.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had a day earlier accepted responsibility for glitches in the CBSE digital evaluation system.
CBSE rejected the allegations on X , stating it followed General Financial Rules and floated the RFP on the Central Public Procurement portal on 28 August 2025 .
The controversy was triggered by a Class 12 student being mistakenly sent another candidate's Physics answer sheet.
Gandhi has called for the probe to be expanded to cover all contracts awarded to COEMPT .
Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday, 29 May renewed his demand for an independent judicial inquiry into the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)'s decision to award a contract for the On-screen Marking Scheme (OSM) to an allegedly ineligible EdTech company, escalating a controversy that has gripped India's education establishment ahead of Class 12 result season.
What Gandhi Alleged
Sharing a news clipping on social media, Gandhi directly challenged the government's defence and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence and what he called 'inaction against the Education Minister'. His post came a day after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan publicly accepted responsibility for glitches in the CBSE's digital evaluation system for Class 12.
Gandhi alleged that a company called COEMPT was awarded the OSM contract in place of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and that several eligibility terms were reportedly diluted to favour the former. He also alleged that the government showed 'unnecessary haste' in implementing the OSM system from this academic year.
'Pradhan ji and CBSE say 'due process was followed'. That is not an answer; that is not accountability. The question is whether the contract was honestly awarded to the best company which could do the job correctly. The futures of 18.5 lakh children were handed to a company that could only qualify after the rules were bent for it,' Gandhi said.
He added: 'To the BJP Ministers attacking me for asking questions — I have, from day one, demanded an independent judicial probe. Expand it from CBSE to every contract awarded to COEMPT. Our youth deserve the truth.'
The Incident That Triggered the Debate
The controversy was ignited after a Class 12 student was mistakenly sent another candidate's Physics answer sheet — an error that sparked a nationwide debate on transparency and fairness in digital evaluation. The incident raised broader concerns about the systemic reliability of outsourcing high-stakes board exam marking to third-party technology vendors.
Both the CBSE and Education Minister Pradhan have since acknowledged glitches affecting some students and pledged to strengthen the system going forward. This is not the first time the CBSE's digital evaluation rollout has drawn scrutiny, but the scale of public concern this cycle — involving the futures of lakhs of students — has sharpened political attention on procurement decisions.
CBSE's Defence
The CBSE, in a post on social media platform X on Wednesday, firmly rejected Gandhi's allegations of impropriety. 'It is erroneous, misleading, and not based on facts,' the board stated. The CBSE maintained that it had 'followed the General Financial Rules protocols scrupulously in awarding the contract,' and that it had floated a Request for Proposal (RFP) for digital evaluation of answer books for Board Exams 2026 on the Central Public Procurement portal on 28 August 2025, awarding the contract to the 'qualified bidder.'
Political Dimensions
The row has deepened into a broader political confrontation, with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers reportedly attacking Gandhi for raising the issue. Gandhi has framed his continued questioning as a matter of accountability to students and parents, calling for the probe to be widened beyond CBSE to cover all contracts awarded to COEMPT. With Class 12 results directly affecting college admissions for millions of students, the controversy is unlikely to lose momentum soon.
Point of View
But it stops short of addressing whether the vendor selection process was robust. Gandhi's demand for a judicial probe is politically convenient, but the underlying concern — that a high-stakes exam system serving 18.5 lakh students was handed to a company of uncertain capability — deserves a credible, independent answer. The CBSE's defence that 'due process was followed' is procedural, not substantive; it does not address whether the eligibility criteria were altered before the RFP was issued, which is the crux of the allegation.
NationPress
14 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the CBSE OSM controversy about?
The controversy centres on CBSE's decision to award a contract for the On-screen Marking Scheme (OSM) — used for digital evaluation of Class 12 answer sheets — to an EdTech firm called COEMPT. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has alleged that eligibility rules were diluted to favour COEMPT over a more established competitor, TCS, putting the evaluation of 18.5 lakh students at risk.
What has Rahul Gandhi demanded?
Gandhi has demanded an independent judicial inquiry into the CBSE's OSM contract award, and has called for the probe to be widened to cover all contracts awarded to COEMPT. He made these demands in a social media post on 29 May, a day after Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan acknowledged glitches in the system.
What did CBSE say in response to the allegations?
CBSE posted on social media platform X that Gandhi's allegations were 'erroneous, misleading, and not based on facts.' The board stated it followed General Financial Rules protocols and had floated the RFP on the Central Public Procurement portal on 28 August 2025, awarding the contract to the qualified bidder.
What incident sparked the wider controversy?
A Class 12 student was mistakenly sent another candidate's Physics answer sheet, triggering a nationwide debate on transparency and reliability in digital evaluation. The error drew attention to the risks of outsourcing high-stakes board exam marking to third-party vendors.
Has the government accepted any responsibility?
Yes. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan publicly accepted responsibility for glitches in the CBSE evaluation system for Class 12 on Thursday, 28 May, and promised improvements. However, neither the minister nor CBSE has addressed the specific allegations about the eligibility criteria for the OSM contract.
